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Can anyone tell me anything about the pre med program at St.George's University in the Carribean?
Pre-med at St.Georges
- Thread starter HEME-ONC
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Hmmm. Don't go for the pre-med program, or don't go to SGU at all?
I don't know much about the pre-med program, but there are some people in my class who went through it.
Personally, I'm ready to be done with the island. This will be my last term in Grenada, and I'll be very happy to be back in the good ol' USA. That's not to say that I hate Grenada...it's just that after a significant amount of time there, you tend to get sick of it.
The academic program is intense, and I certainly do not regret my decision to go there. Despite what people may say, graduates have gone into just about every specialty there is.
I'm not sure if this helps or not...I guess I would probably opt not to go to Grenada for pre-med. I'd do as well as I could in any coursework I needed befor applying, and perhaps observe a few docs to get some letters of recommendation. I think you would stand a good chance of being accepted, even if you didn't go through pre med at SGU.
Good luck!
I don't know much about the pre-med program, but there are some people in my class who went through it.
Personally, I'm ready to be done with the island. This will be my last term in Grenada, and I'll be very happy to be back in the good ol' USA. That's not to say that I hate Grenada...it's just that after a significant amount of time there, you tend to get sick of it.
The academic program is intense, and I certainly do not regret my decision to go there. Despite what people may say, graduates have gone into just about every specialty there is.
I'm not sure if this helps or not...I guess I would probably opt not to go to Grenada for pre-med. I'd do as well as I could in any coursework I needed befor applying, and perhaps observe a few docs to get some letters of recommendation. I think you would stand a good chance of being accepted, even if you didn't go through pre med at SGU.
Good luck!
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whats the point of going to st. georges for premed if there is so many quality post bacc, premed powerup programs in this country, run by legit universities that has a med school?
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I toally agree. I'd much rather do that sort of thing here than there, but others may prefer not to.
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On the other hand...
If the extra cost is not a concern, and you go offshore for premed courses, do well in them and rock the MCAT, I don't think you'd be hurt, and you may be helped -- come on, it's premed, not clinical rotations where resources and quality of health care system will be reflective of your training. Sure, med schools look at where you get your undergrad degree, and some do care where you do your premed, but they also look for signs of maturity and independence and direction, and some will *like* that you took off somewhere to do your premed, e.g., "to experience another culture/system", etc. And it's the MCAT that's primarily used as the standard to compare abilities to absorb basic science across schools, not where you took the courses.
I'd guess that premed in Grenada is probably *better* than premed at 70-80% of US schools (and I hope, Renovar, you're not saying St. G's isn't "legit") -- there are a lot of crappy third-rate schools in the US, and many first-rate research schools with crappy lecturers (and research quality of a school adds zilch to intro (e.g., premed) science course quality). And doing premed somehere in the US that has a med school helps just slightly better than nil (spending a year doing med research directly with a PI is a different thing altogether).
So if what you want is a year or so of exotic or tropical living, go somewhere like Grenada, Ireland, Australia, even -- or maybe particularly -- Haiti. If the program sucks, then rely on yourself more and study harder, as premed can be 90% book-learned. Sure, you gotta' mix a few chemicals, maybe identify an unknown or two in lab, but you can do that anywhere with a chem set, and I personally thought the labs were a waste of time beyond getting comfortable with smart practices and protocols and expensive equipment...yippee, we prepared samples and pushed the button on the NMR, but the paper output is identical to what you'd find in a textbook. And while you're there studying 4-5 textbooks, learn something additional, other than premed, something that equates with personal development, that you can show to admin committees.
Just don't expect the premed course *grades* to help you much -- good grades are normally expected for premed courses, and probably a bit more so if there is any question by the admin committees on the program's quality. So, if you want to go somewhere to see somewhere else, and you're independent enough to thrive regardless of the program's quality, I say -- go for it.
If the extra cost is not a concern, and you go offshore for premed courses, do well in them and rock the MCAT, I don't think you'd be hurt, and you may be helped -- come on, it's premed, not clinical rotations where resources and quality of health care system will be reflective of your training. Sure, med schools look at where you get your undergrad degree, and some do care where you do your premed, but they also look for signs of maturity and independence and direction, and some will *like* that you took off somewhere to do your premed, e.g., "to experience another culture/system", etc. And it's the MCAT that's primarily used as the standard to compare abilities to absorb basic science across schools, not where you took the courses.
I'd guess that premed in Grenada is probably *better* than premed at 70-80% of US schools (and I hope, Renovar, you're not saying St. G's isn't "legit") -- there are a lot of crappy third-rate schools in the US, and many first-rate research schools with crappy lecturers (and research quality of a school adds zilch to intro (e.g., premed) science course quality). And doing premed somehere in the US that has a med school helps just slightly better than nil (spending a year doing med research directly with a PI is a different thing altogether).
So if what you want is a year or so of exotic or tropical living, go somewhere like Grenada, Ireland, Australia, even -- or maybe particularly -- Haiti. If the program sucks, then rely on yourself more and study harder, as premed can be 90% book-learned. Sure, you gotta' mix a few chemicals, maybe identify an unknown or two in lab, but you can do that anywhere with a chem set, and I personally thought the labs were a waste of time beyond getting comfortable with smart practices and protocols and expensive equipment...yippee, we prepared samples and pushed the button on the NMR, but the paper output is identical to what you'd find in a textbook. And while you're there studying 4-5 textbooks, learn something additional, other than premed, something that equates with personal development, that you can show to admin committees.
Just don't expect the premed course *grades* to help you much -- good grades are normally expected for premed courses, and probably a bit more so if there is any question by the admin committees on the program's quality. So, if you want to go somewhere to see somewhere else, and you're independent enough to thrive regardless of the program's quality, I say -- go for it.
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A few words on the more general topic...
Flindophile -- it *seems* like you're saying: because there are limited US slots for med school, becoming IMG is ok; therefore, because there are not limited premed slots, IPMG (premed 😉 ) is not ok. If this is what you're saying, then I must strongly disagree (and not just with logical validity).
Suppose you're an IMG because of choice (the option exists for US med degree), like for several on this board (and as I am planning). Then IMG is ok not because of any limit in slots, but because there is something "else" that attracts such students. Assuming these students aren't delusional, and are taking any implied "risks" under consideration, it follows that there can be similar reasons to go offshore to do premed that take any potential risks under consideration.
I agree that there is some gambling going on when someone chooses to be an IMG, or likewise an IPMG. The gamble isn't that you will necessarily be hurt by being one. The gamble is that it *could* hurt you. Then again, it could help you, in terms of your development, or (to be more cynical) by helping you stand out in the med school selection process. I think you alone decide those odds. I think some people do things fixated too much on how to get to some endpoint, often resulting in the myopic view that only X, Y, and Z will help them get there, rather than enjoying themselves and realizing they're developing -- or can develop --, and can later be recognized as having developed, along the way.
Once during college I was lamenting my summer job as a liquor store clerk to my brother -- "What do you do there?"..."`stock liquor and handle cash"..."Learn how the business works, the suppliers, the management, the marketing...absorb everything...". I later started a successful business from what I learned there, and I also now know a thing or two about wine.
Correlations are rarely 1, and where behavior is concerned, you can usually choose to be an outlier and still be the better for it (indeed, that's the only way, for me).
-Pitman
Flindophile -- it *seems* like you're saying: because there are limited US slots for med school, becoming IMG is ok; therefore, because there are not limited premed slots, IPMG (premed 😉 ) is not ok. If this is what you're saying, then I must strongly disagree (and not just with logical validity).
Suppose you're an IMG because of choice (the option exists for US med degree), like for several on this board (and as I am planning). Then IMG is ok not because of any limit in slots, but because there is something "else" that attracts such students. Assuming these students aren't delusional, and are taking any implied "risks" under consideration, it follows that there can be similar reasons to go offshore to do premed that take any potential risks under consideration.
I agree that there is some gambling going on when someone chooses to be an IMG, or likewise an IPMG. The gamble isn't that you will necessarily be hurt by being one. The gamble is that it *could* hurt you. Then again, it could help you, in terms of your development, or (to be more cynical) by helping you stand out in the med school selection process. I think you alone decide those odds. I think some people do things fixated too much on how to get to some endpoint, often resulting in the myopic view that only X, Y, and Z will help them get there, rather than enjoying themselves and realizing they're developing -- or can develop --, and can later be recognized as having developed, along the way.
Once during college I was lamenting my summer job as a liquor store clerk to my brother -- "What do you do there?"..."`stock liquor and handle cash"..."Learn how the business works, the suppliers, the management, the marketing...absorb everything...". I later started a successful business from what I learned there, and I also now know a thing or two about wine.
Correlations are rarely 1, and where behavior is concerned, you can usually choose to be an outlier and still be the better for it (indeed, that's the only way, for me).
-Pitman
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St. George's pre-med is not designed for US students; as previously stated, you can get your post-bac stuff in the US. There have been a few US premeds, but I don't understand why.
The pre-med is for people from India, Sri Lanka, the UK, or other places where professional school is right after high school. I don't know if the pre-med classes are A-level or post-A-level, but, if you do the full three years (hellish), it's definitely over A level.
The pre-med is for people from India, Sri Lanka, the UK, or other places where professional school is right after high school. I don't know if the pre-med classes are A-level or post-A-level, but, if you do the full three years (hellish), it's definitely over A level.
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Thanks for the elaboration, Flindophile (didn't mean to indict you in particular).
Why does premed there only help to get in there? I'd think it'd be like any other place -- take the required courses, take the MCAT, apply to schools as usual.
But still, I could see someone going there to experience the local culture (e.g., if future plan is to practice/live in the tropics), rather than isolated behind the pearly gates. Yet the attraction may be more than just perceived cultural difference -- there's a myriad of reasons/motivations for what people do.
I guess I'd just like to see less categorical assertion and more elaboration in posts, so people can make up their own minds.
-Pitman
Why does premed there only help to get in there? I'd think it'd be like any other place -- take the required courses, take the MCAT, apply to schools as usual.
But still, I could see someone going there to experience the local culture (e.g., if future plan is to practice/live in the tropics), rather than isolated behind the pearly gates. Yet the attraction may be more than just perceived cultural difference -- there's a myriad of reasons/motivations for what people do.
I guess I'd just like to see less categorical assertion and more elaboration in posts, so people can make up their own minds.
-Pitman
